An ode to the sense of taste

Food is good! What a genius creation where texture, flavor, and color collide. I have to say it is so satisfying to take a bigger-than-your-mouth bite of something delicious and overwhelm your senses...it's a bit reckless. Sometimes it is nice to forget boundaries and just be. Just go!

Maybe this is why I love Thanksgiving. This Thanksgiving I ate: cinnamon rolls, eggs, sausage, apple slices, yams, collard greens, dressing, macaroni and cheese, potato salad, herbed rice, brussels sprouts, ham, turkey, cranberry sauce, banana pudding, sweet potato pie, pecan pie, banana nut cake, cranberry truffle, and carrot spice cake. My stomach absolutely rioted, and I am glad it is once a year, but I would not change a bite.

I am learning more each day how important it is to take care of my body and nourish it well with fueling foods. I love how I feel after I eat a well balanced meal of protein, fresh vegetables, and whole grains. But I am not of the opinion that food is meant solely to prolong my years. Food is also to be appreciated and savored.

I have caught myself eating too quickly lately. We are living in a Rush Hour culture and even when I have nothing to do, "scarf mode" is auto engaged. Don't act like you don't know scarf mode. It is quite possible to eat an entire meal and never taste a bite! Shouldn't this concern us? Taste (as I learned in a science class), requires presence and attentiveness. I think I like food so much because there is so much to discover when I take the time to taste it. The more you attend to what you are eating, the more you taste it and the more you taste it the more beauty [or not] you uncover. You might write me off as a glutton or a nutcase, but I think it is possible that the way you approach your dinner is related to the way you approach other things in life. Do you stop to savor, discover, explore, ponder? It isn't to say that "quick eaters" are shallow and thoughtless (I am guilty as much as anyone). But I wonder how much I have missed by forgetting to taste. And so, a next meal challenge is in order. Pause and complete: "This tastes _____." For as many years as I have been eating, it is amazing how long it has taken me to discover how good food really is.